The term “analyte” is used throughout the body of this text and is defined as a particle that is of interest to the user of the present invention. The term “particle” is defined as a very small unit of matter, to include but not limited to: biological cells, cell organelles, organic/inorganic molecules, and microspheres.
The use of acoustic standing waves to concentrate homogeneously suspended particles in a fluid at acoustic pressure nodal or antinodal planes within the fluid was first described by A. Kundt, and O. Lehmann, “Longitudinal vibrations and acoustic figures in cylindrical columns of liquids”, Annalen der Physik und Chemie (Poggendorff's Annalen), 153, 1-11 (1874). However, the inclusion of suspended particles was used only to enhance the visualization of the ultrasonic waves Kundt and Lehmann sought to describe.
Acoustic forces may be used to non-invasively position, concentrate, or fractionate particles in a fluid. Particles suspended within a fluid filled cavity subject to ultrasonic irradiation experience a time-averaged drift force that transports them to a minima in the acoustic radiation force potential that is dependent upon the acoustic contrast ratio between the particles and the surrounding fluid. For plane waves, positions that correspond to minima in of the acoustic radiation force potential are the pressure nodal and antinodal planes Other forces are also present in a sound wave that exerts torque on particles, which induces spin or alignment of the particles. Secondary forces between particles, due to scattering of the sound field by neighboring particles, also serves to aggregate particles into concentrated clumps.
Microfluidic devices that incorporate the use of acoustic standing waves may be used to filter particles from samples prior to analysis, or separate and position particles within defined flow channels. Acoustic concentration of biological cells can be incorporated in a fully automated analysis system providing contamination-free high-speed, real-time measurements.
The present invention is an apparatus and method for using acoustic force to position, concentrate, or fractionate particles suspended in a fluid. One embodiment of the present invention uses a low-order coupled structure/cavity mode of a long cylindrical fluid-filled glass tube driven by a piezo-ceramic transducer to create a resonant pressure field that is dipole in character within the fluid-filled cavity. Thus, particles within the fluid are driven towards minima in the radiation force potential created by the resonant ultrasonic field. The cylindrical geometry eliminates the need for accurate alignment of a transducer/reflector system, in contrast to the case where planar, confocal, or traveling wave fields are used. An added benefit of the cylindrical geometry is a lower energy density in the cavity, brought about through excitation of the whole cylinder that results in reduced cavitation, convection, and thermal gradients within the fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,295, “Method and Apparatus for Acoustically Demixing Aqueous Solutions”, issued on Jul. 18, 2000, by Raghavarao, et al., teaches the use of acoustic energy to demix an aqueous solution that consists of at least two aqueous phases. Here, large amounts of acoustic energy (4-6 Watts/cms at 1.2-1.8 MHz) are transmitted from a transducer into an aqueous solution to demix. This differs from the present invention as no resonance modes are utilized to create nodal positions within the aqueous solution and the energy range is such that it would destroy sensitive particles, such as cell structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,888, “Multilayered Piezoelectric Resonator for The Separation of Suspended Particles”, issued on Jan. 27, 1998, by Trampler et al., teaches a method of separating particles suspended within a fluid using acoustic energy. However, the present invention differs in that the cavity is not rectangular, as is taught in Trampler et al., which requires accurate alignment of the system, but instead uses the cylindrically symmetric acoustic modes of the coupled system consisting of the structure and cavity to set up the sought-after resonance and corresponding minima in the acoustic radiation force potential.
Various objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.